WHEELS Wednesday #7 – 2015 Nissan GT-R Nismo AKA “MechaGodzilla”

If the standard GT-R isn’t insane enough, the GT-R Nismo should satisfy that void. Packing 600 horsepower — about 55 more than the standard GT-R — the Nismo edition set the record at Germany’s Nurburgring for volume-built cars, with a lap time of 7 minutes, 8 seconds. It uses GT3-spec high-flow, large diameter turbochargers to get the extra boost, while virtually everything from the aerodynamics to the suspension has been tinkered with for maximum potential.

The NISMO receives more power—595 horsepower and 481 lb-ft, up from 545 and 463—thanks to better breathing and larger turbos lifted from the GT-R GT3 race car. Bilstein DampTronic shocks with new Track, Race, and Race Plus modes are used all around, as are stiffer springs. New front links increase caster trail and both straight-line and cornering stability. Dunlop supplies stickier 255/40-20 front and 285/35-20 rear tires, and beefier bolts have been employed in the wheel-hub attachment area to stiffen the assembly. Out back is a hollow, 17.3-mm anti-roll bar, and the entire structure of the NISMO version is stiffened by a claimed eight percent using more adhesive bonding to complement additional seam welds.

Outside, the NISMO’s front end and side sills receive red trim, and there are wider six-spoke wheels. More aesthetic wattage comes courtesy of the car’s aggressive aero package that includes a reshaped front fascia, a new rear fascia, and a burly rear wing—all of which conspire to increase downforce by, it’s said, more than 220 pounds at 186 mph. Nissan’s stated coefficient of drag, however, remains the same as that of the base GT-R, at 0.26.